"So promise me you'll never forget...that you aren't an accident or an incident...you are a gift to the world, a divine work of art, signed by God. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth...Flooded by emotion, overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, 'You are my child. I love you dearly.'" Max Lucado, God Thinks You're Wonderful

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Happy Gotcha Day Owen!

In our family we celebrate Gotcha Days...

For us, this is the day we finalize our children's adoption since we typically "have" them from birth.

It's a big day...so we'll forever celebrate it.

On finalization day we go to court and stand before the judge as he tells us we can parent our children FOREVER!

We work really hard to prepare for this day. We've said a million prayers and asked everyone to pray for us that all will go smoothly as we await this precious day. Then we get all gussied up and stand before the judge and promise to always love this child unconditionally, to do everything to protect them and provide for them, and mostly to strive to honor and glorify God as we parent them.

It makes me teary just thinking about it!

Then we get to go and apply for his new birth certificate that say our names and his new Shockley name!

We get to apply for a social security card and everything! It's stuff that some people take for granted because it just happens!

Owen and Blake right after we got home from his finalization! Don't they look handsome???

Owen blowing out his candles...notice there are 4, one is for Cooper to blow out!

He wanted an ice cream cake and boy was it yummy!

He looks so big here! Who am I kidding, he is big! I can't believe it's been 3 1/2 years since we first fell in love with this guy!Papa Joe and Gigi came by after naps to play. They got Owen and Cooper matching OU basketball jerseys. They were a huge hit! They took us to dinner then had cake with us! Thanks for celebrating this fun day with us guys!

So, Happy Gotcha Day buddy. You have no idea how much I love you and how much you've taught me! You have taught me how to be a better mommy. You have made me laugh more than I could have ever imagined and you've made me cry happy tears too. I love the way you adore your daddy and want nothing else but to be like him even down to his eating habits and mannerisms. I love how you prefer to be at home more than anywhere else.

11 comments:

how adorable, and what a great idea!! This is my first time commenting on your blog but I have been reading for a few weeks now. You have the most gorgeous family! My husband and I are pursuing adoption, and I was trying to find if you had an email somewhere I could contact you, to ask you some questions. my email is ajd495@gmail.com if you want to email me. I would love to get your advice on some things and to hear your adoption stories. I hope to hear from you!! God bless you and your family! :)

Hi Molly, my name is Suzanne Alward, I am a friend of Sarah Grunewald Dorsey's and found your blog through hers. She has told me about your family before and I have to say that your children are beautiful. I was adopted 30 years ago and we still celebrate my "special day" every year. We consider it a second birthday of sorts! Anyway just wanted to say hi and let you know that I love your blog!

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About Me

I am a nurse and a stay-at-home mom to our four children. These kids and their daddy are my world. This is the life I have dreamed of and I can't believe I am blessed to be living out my dreams! This blog is to help keep our friends and family that we don't see daily, updated on what's going on in our home and the funny things our kids say! I also love sharing our story and how God has blessed us through adoption and hope this opens up more people to considering adoption.